Review: Steppenwolf's Artful THE REMBRANDT

Art can deepen our understanding of the human condition, but it also can wall us off from our own shared humanity. That is the crux of Jessica Dickey's humorous and enlightening comedy THE REMBRANDT, currently enjoying its Chicago debut at Steppenwolf through Nov. 5th.

Anyone who has ever perused a museum gallery alone will certainly agree. As much as the works can enlighten you, museums can be lonely places. Unless you are engaged with a particularly chatty docent, you aren't likely to be connecting with your fellow tourists, patrons and enlightenment seekers.

So what to make of THE REMBRANDT? It is touching and funny thanks to some great direction by Hallie Gordon and onstage work by its cast. Francis Guinan delivers a tender performance as Henry, the former teacher who now works as a security guard in a museum. As much as Henry knows about the paintings and life, there's a sadness to him and we soon learn why: Henry's partner Simon (John Mahoney) has stage four cancer and Henry's job and the art around him enable him to defer dealing with the situation.

Dodger, a Banksy-type artist played by the extremely likable Ty Olwin, is new to the job and Henry is gladly showing him the ropes even though Dodger does not intend to be a security guard for very long. He plans on rising up the ranks in order to effect change within the cultural institution.

They are joined in the gallery by an art student named Madeline (Karen Rodriguez in a performance that is both assertive, warm and vulnerable). After the death of her grandmother (who raised her until the point at which the child became the caretaker), Madeline has literally taken a page from T. H. White's The Once and Future King and is dealing with her grief by learning something. While it is unlikely that an art student just one week into her studies would be granted credentials by an arts organization to copy a master work such as Rembrandt's "Aristotle with a Bust of Homer," it's the least of the indulgences the playwright will ask of the audience.

The larger issue is what is the catalyst for the rest of play: the master work (worth millions of dollars, we are told) is touched. The motivations leading up to that point aren't really identified (at least to my satisfaction, anyway). It is merely the vehicle by which Dickey transports the audience through time to examine the painting's origins and subject matter.

Dickey packs an awful lot into her funny and thought-provoking script -perhaps too much. The historic scenes featuring Rembrandt and Homer simply do not resonate as much as the modern ones. Guinan's Rembrandt comes across as a cranky, aging painter convinced his fans will soon realize the many faults he sees in his own works. Mahoney's Homer, meanwhile, is given a lengthy monologue that at times feels less like the oration from one of greatest storytellers of all time and more like a stand up routine. Mahoney makes it work, but you can't help but feel Dickey merely scratched the surface here.

Still, a final scene between Simon and Henry gives us a chance to see two of Chicago's favorite actors do what they do best. Mahoney and Guinan do not waste the opportunity as their characters hold fast to whatever little time they have left with each other. Their performances are touching and poignant and emphasis the large theme at work here. Namely the notion that all art, while possessing the capacity to illuminate our share humanity, is meant to supplement and not replace it. Art can often separate us from the very thing we are trying to comprehend. Put perhaps more simply: life is meant to be lived, not merely just understood. The greatest works of art, literature, poetry and, yes, even theater are but pale copies of a life well lived.

The Chicago premiere of THE REMBRANDT runs through Nov. 5 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted. Tickets $20-$104. 312.335.1650. Steppenwolf.org.

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